Wednesday, December 30, 2009

We hope you are all in fine voice when belting out Auld Lang Syne tomorrow night. Now that it's the end of 2009, The Racquetball Blog has put together its list of The 10 Best Racquetball Stories of 2009.

10) 2015 Pan Am Games awarded to Toronto. Toronto's selection means that racquetball will likely be included in one of the largest multi-sport games in the world. That's very important for racquetball's growth and global presence. Moreover, this will hopefully give racquetball a boost in Canada, and that is dearly needed.

9) Jason Mannino wins another International Racquetball Tour (IRT) event. At the start of this IRT season, The Racquetball Blog had doubts as to whether Mannino would win another event, based on his performances the previous season. But when Kane Waselenchuk wasn't able to make the Kentucky Open, Mannino stepped onto the court and took the title, beating Rocky Carson in the semi-finals and Jack Huczek in the finals, and that was despite Mannino suffering a calf injury midway through the final match.

8) Kristen Bellows winning the Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) Ektelon Championship. In May, the WPRO focus was on whether Paola Longoria or Rhonda Rajsich would finish #1 after the final event of the season. But Bellows beat them both - Longoria in the final and Rajsich in the semis - in winning her first WPRO tournament.

7) Alvaro Beltran's injury. Beltran was the 4th ranked player at the end of last season, and the only player to defeat #1 Kane Waselenchuk. But he has not played an IRT event this season due to a pre-season leg injury. It's unclear when Beltran will return to the IRT and what sort of form he'll be in when he does. His absence has made the difference between the top few players and those below them even more evident.

6) Rhonda Rajsich wins 2009 US Open. Rajsich tied Christie Van Hees for most US Open titles by a women with three when she defeated Paola Longoria in October. The win put Rajsich back on top of the WPRO rankings.

5) Bolivians win big at World Junior Championships. Prior to this year, Bolivia had 2 gold medals at World Juniors: one in 2008 and one in 2007. This year they won 3 more. Their improvement may create some disappointed North Americans, but in general this is a good thing for racquetball, as North Americans have been too dominant for too long. If racquetball is going to be a global game, then this kind of thing needs to happen more often.

4) Racquetball returns to World Games. It had been 16 years since racquetball was last in the World Games, a multi-sport event for non-Olympic sports. The games were held in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, so it was an opportunity to showcase racquetball outside North America. Rocky Carson and Paola Longoria won the gold medals.

3) Paola Longoria finishes #1 on WPRO. Longoria became the first Mexican player to be #1 on either the WPRO or IRT. She won 4 titles last season, including her first US Open title in 2008. So far this season, Longoria and Rajsich have split the four WPRO events, winning two each. This is going to make for an exciting second half of the season.

2) Dave Negrete resigns as International Racquetball Tour Commissioner. News of Negrete's resignation was shocking. The IRT improved greatly during his tenure as commissioner, and there was no indication that a change was coming. Jason Mannino has stepped into the position. He'll continue to play until the end of the season, when he will retire and completely devote himself to the commissioner's role. This change in the midst of economic uncertainty is of great concern, as sponsors, which the IRT is dependent on, are more difficult to find.

1) Kane Waselenchuk. His return to the IRT was our top story of 2008, and his continued excellence is the reason we're putting him on top again. Waselenchuk suffered only one match defeat in 2009. He's lost only once in 16 months, and it's hard to see when Waselenchuk will lose next.

There you have it. The top 10 racquetball stories of 2009. If you think we missed something, leave a comment.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

The International Racquetball Federation (IRF) has announced the team competition results from the 21st World Junior Racquetball Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic that ended on Sunday. As The Racquetball Blog anticipated, the United States won the overall title based on clear wins in both boys and girls competitions.

Mexico finished second overall, although they were third in girls behind Bolivia, who came third overall based on that second place girls finish and a third place boys finish.

Canada was fourth overall, but in fifth behind Costa Rica in the boys competition. Costa Rica didn't get any points from the girls side, although they did have three girls in Santo Domingo. Thus, Costa Rica was fourth in boys and sixth overall behind Canada and Ecuador in fourth and fifth, respectively.

Ireland had its strongest ever World Juniors results, and finished seventh overall from a sixth place finish in girls and tenth in boys. The Irish team was the only one from outside the Americas.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Paola Longoria is again the #1 women's racquetball player according to the latest rankings released by the Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO). Longoria was the #1 player at the start of the season, but was overtaken by Rhonda Rajsich, who won the first two events of the season.

But Longoria won the last two WPRO events and those wins have moved her back above Rajsich.

Jennifer Saunders and T.J. Baumbaugh have reached career highs in the rankings. Saunders is now 7th and Baumbaugh 10th. Veronica Sotomayor, who hasn't played an event this season, has fallen out of the top 10, and is now 11th.

Finally, Aubrey O'brien, who was a double gold medalist at the World Junior Racquetball Championships this past week, is just outside the top 20 at 21st.

Monday, December 21, 2009

No official word from the International Racquetball Federation (IRF) on the team competition results from the 21st World Junior Racquetball Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. However, The Racquetball Blog has done a medal count and based on that it appears that the United States has won the overall title with 15 total medals: 6 gold, 5 silver and 4 bronze.

The USA was led by two double gold medalists. Jose Rojas won both singles and doubles in the Boys 18 and under divisions while Aubrey O'brien won the Girls 16 & under singles title and the 18 & under doubles title.

Mexico seems to have just eked past Bolivia for second place overall. Mexico had 3 gold, 3 silver and 5 bronze medals compared to Bolivia's 3 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze medals.

Coming fourth (unofficially) seems to be Ecuador, whose players had 1 silver and 2 bronze medals, which puts them just ahead of both Canada and Costa Rica, who both had 3 bronze medals each.

Players from four other countries won 1 bronze each: Columbia, Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Ireland. Aisling Hickey and Ciara Mcmanamon of Ireland could have the distinction of winning their country's first ever medal at World Juniors.

In all, players from 10 different countries won medals at this year's World Juniors tournament, which The Racquetball Blog believes could be a record.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

American girls swept up all the gold medals in doubles in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic at the 21st World Junior Racquetball Championships hosted by the International Racquetball Federation (IRF), but as in singles it was a three way split on the boys' side in doubles with the USA, Bolivia and Mexico getting one gold medal each.

Each of the girls finals was an American-Bolivian battle. In Girls 18 and under, Danielle Key and Aubrey O'brien needed a tie-breaker to defeat the Bolivian team of Yazmine Sabja and Maria Jose Vargas, winning 13-15, 15-8, 11-0. Key and O'brien won the 16 and under doubles division last year.

Amanda Lindsay and Jessica Munoz won the Girls 16 and under by defeating Bolivians Adriana Riveros and Carolina Ona, 15-5, 15-13, while in Girls 14 and under Kelani Bailey and Abbey Lavely beat Masiel Rivera and Natalia Mendez, 15-7, 15-10.

Each of the gold medal winning boys doubles teams had a gold medal winning singles player. Thus, American Jose Rojas, Bolivian Carlos Keller Vargas and Mexican Javier Estrada will each being coming home with two gold medals.

Rojas and Jose Serrano won the Boys 18 and under doubles title by defeating Jose Daniel Ugalde and Juan Diego Rodriguez of Ecuador, 15-3, 15-8. Rojas also won the Boys 18 and under title last year when he played with Jansen Allen.

Vargas and Jorge Luis Michel won the 16 and under division with a victory over Americans Joshua Hungerford and Nick Montalbano, 15-12, 15-12. It's their second World Juniors doubles title, as they won the 14 and under in 2007.

Estrada and Eduardo Garay defeated Americans Adam Manilla and Zachary Wertz, 15-0, 15-10 in the Boys 14 and under final.

Bolivia, Mexico and the USA have each won two gold medals in the singles divisions at the 21st World Junior Racquetball Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic hosted by the International Racquetball Federation (IRF).

Sabja's team-mate, Carlos Keller Vargas became first Bolivian boy and the first non-North American since 1989 to win a World Junior Championship in the 14, 16 or 18 and under division as he defeated American Marco Rojas in the Boys 16 & under final, 4-15, 15-13, 11-2. American Aubrey O'brien won the Girls 16 & under title by defeating Mexican Sofia Rascon, 15-11, 15-4.

Mexicans swept the 14 & under finals. On the girls' side, it was a guarantee, as both finalists were Mexican. Lucia Gonzalez defeated Ximena Gonzalez, 1-15, 15-13, 11-10. On the boys' side, Javier Estrada defeated American Zachary Wertz, 15-0, 15-10.

Last year, Maria Jose Vargas won Bolivia's first gold medal at World Juniors (in Girls 14 & under). Now, they've won two more.

In an unbelievable decision, the R2Sports.com page for the 21st World Junior Racquetball Championships currently (1 PM Central time Sunday) states:

The tournament director has requested to turn off the live results to keep the results secret until the awards ceremony at 4:30 pm local time. You can continue to view the draws to check for the latest winners.

This includes disabling the media reporting function on the site.

This is simply preposterous. Who is this helping? We know it's hurting anyone who has a passing interest in the event.

This is the kind of non-cooperation that the International Racquetball Federation (IRF) has been accused of by many, including the European Racquetball Federation (ERF), which led to their resignation from the IRF.

The Racquetball Blog staff is doing a collective head shake at this poor decision. Unbelievable.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

The finals are set for the 21st World Junior Racquetball Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic hosted by the International Racquetball Federation (IRF). They will be played on Sunday.

American Jose Rojas is one step away from winning his second World Junior Championship in Boys 18 & under. Alejandro Cardona of Mexico has the task of spoiling the end of Rojas's junior career. Rojas comfortably defeated Roland Keller of Bolivia, 15-4, 15-7, while Cardona needed a tie-breaker to get by Taylor Knoth of the USA, 15-8, 14-15, 11-7.

The #1 and #2 seeds will meet in the Girls 18 & under final, as top seed Sheryl Lotts (USA) takes on second seed Yazmine Sabja (Bolivia). Lotts got to the final by defeating Christina Cordova of Ecuador, 15-9, 15-4, in the semi-finals, and Sabja defeated Danielle Key (USA), 15-13, 15-8.

In Boys 16 & under Carlos Keller Vargas of Bolivia will be trying to make history Sunday by being the first Bolivian and only second non-North American to win a World Junior Championship in the 14, 16 or 18 and under Boys divisions. However, he's up against the 2007 14 and under World Junior Champion in Marco Rojas (USA). Vargas defeated top seed Daniel De La Rosa of Mexico, 13-15, 15-8, 11-8, in the semi-finals while Rojas beat Mexican Misael Lejia, 15-8, 15-7.

In Girls 16 & under, Aubrey O'brien (USA) will face Sofia Rascon (Mexico) in the final Sunday in a show down between the 23rd and 26th, respectively, ranked players in the Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO). O'brien beat Canadian Frédérique Lambert, 15-7, 15-4 in one semi-final, while Rascon defeated Adriana Riveros (Bolivia), 15-10, 15-14, in the other.

The Girls 14 & under final will be an all Mexican, all Gonzalez battle, as Ximena Gonzalez plays Lucia Gonzalez. In the semi-finals, Ximena defeated Kelani Bailey (USA), 0-15, 15-14, 11-1, while Lucia took out Masiel Rivera (Bolivia), 15-13, 15-9.

Friday, December 18, 2009

In years gone by racquetball's superpower was the USA followed by Canada. Then Mexico came along as the third power, and international competitions have been a battle between those three countries in recent years.

But changes have begun, and you can see them in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic where the 21st World Junior Racquetball Championships hosted by the International Racquetball Federation (IRF) are in progress. Specifically, you can see the changes in the Girls 18 & under doubles.

There are 7 teams in Girls 18 & under doubles, so three teams are going to be on one side of the draw and four on the other. The three teams on the top half of the draw are Canada, Mexico and the USA. Never would that have happened in the past, because those were your Big Three countries. In the past, two of the Big Three would draw the short straws and be on the same side of the draw, meaning a semi-final showdown prior to a final against the other Big Three nation.

But not in this draw.

This happened because both the USA team of Aubrey O'brien and Danielle Key and the Canadian team of Brigitte Richard and Christine Richardson lost in the preliminary round; in fact, Canada lost twice. Thus, Canada and the USA will be playing off with the winner meeting the top seeded Mexican team of Jessica Parrilla and Rocio Enriquez Gatz in the semi-finals.

On the other side of the draw, Maria Jose Vargas and Yazmine Sabja of Bolivia are seeded second based on wins over the USA (15-13, 15-13) and the Irish team of Donna Ryder and Majella Haverty. Vargas and Sabja will play Venezuelans Islhey Mariana Paredes and Marianna Tobon, and then face either the Irish girls or Cristina Cordova and Maria Paz Munoz of Ecuador, who defeated the Canadian team in the preliminary round.

Thus, while the pro ranks are still dominated by American, Mexican and Canadian players currently, the scene could be very different in the near future as young junior players from outside North America mature and develop into strong senior players.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

The preliminary round or group stage competition wraps up today at the 20th World Junior Racquetball Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic hosted by the International Racquetball Federation (IRF).

So, here's a shout out to all the group winners ahead of Friday's elimination round.

The International Racquetball Tour (IRT) released its latest rankings last week. There's no changes in the top 10, as Kane Waselenchuk remains the #1 player followed by #2 Jack Huczek and #3 Rocky Carson.

However, there are some changes in the next 10. Javier Moreno is up to 11th with Juan Herrera dropping to 13th. Also, Polo Gutierrez is up to 17th from 20th.

Charlie Pratt has cracked the top 20 for the first time, as he's now 19th (up from 22nd). His rise is at the expense of Hiroshi Shimizu, who's dropped from 18th to 21st.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

They are in the second day of the preliminary round competition at the 20th World Junior Racquetball Championships hosted by the International Racquetball Federation (IRF) in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

The most interesting results so far come from the Girls 18 & under division. Maria Paz Munoz of Ecuador, who won Girls 16 & under in 2007, has won her first two games, defeating American Danielle Key, 15-12, 15-4, yesterday and Mexican Jessica Parrilla, 15-14, 14-15, 11-10, today.

Thus, Munoz will likely finish at the top of the group and get a favorable seeding for the elimination round. She'll play Pamela Sierra of Honduras on Thursday, but Sierra has lost to both Key and Parrilla, so Munoz will likely be victorious. Key and Parrilla will face off for second place in the group on Thursday.

In the other Girls 18 & under groups, Sheryl Lotts (USA) will likely finish first in group 1, as she has two wins and no losses. Lotts will play Jessica Maldonado of Mexico on Thursday, but Maldonado has one win and one loss.

Maldonado lost to Cristina Cordova of Ecuador, 15-7, 15-13, on Tuesday, and Lotts beat Cordova on Wednesday, 15-9, 15-6. So you'd expect Lotts would beat Maldonado Thursday, but funnier things have happened in sports, and a win for Maldonado could put her top of the group given that she would be tied with Lotts at 2 wins and 1 loss and won the head to head battle. Though if Cordova wins her match against the other player in the group, Marcela Segreda of Costa Rica, on Thursday then there would be a three way tie, and who knows who'll come out on top then.

In group 2 of Girls 18 & under, Yazmine Sabja of Bolivia and Christine Richardson of Canada both have 2 wins and no losses so their match on Thursday will determine who finishes 1st in the group.

Finally, Carolina Oña of Bolivia in control of group 4, as she has won both her matches. So a victory over Canadian Valérie Fallu on Thursday will put her in 1st. However, a Fallu victory could create another three way tie, as in group 1, if Majella Haverty of Ireland also defeats Chilean Carolina Troncoso in the other match on Thursday.

No huge surprises in the other age divisions so far.

The preliminary round concludes on Thursday with the elimination round beginning on Friday and running through the weekend. The finals are on Sunday.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Some of the finest young racquetball players are in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic for the International Racquetball Federation's (IRF's) World Junior Racquetball Championships. This is the 20th World Junior Championship, and the first in the Dominican Republic. There are 234 players in the event.

In Boys 18 & under, Jose Rojas should be the player to beat. He won the title last year, and is the #23 ranked player on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT). Those trying to prevent Rojas's repeat will include Mexicans Alejandro Cardona and Oscar Arroyo, Canadians Conrad Cole and Colin Mohr as well as Rojas's countryman Taylor Knoth.

Last year it was clear who was the favorite in Girls 18 & under, as Paola Longoria played in World Juniors for the last time, winning her 8th singles title. This year it's not so clear. But there are a few previous World Junior Champions in the field, including American Danielle Key, who won 16 & under last year, Maria Paz Munoz, who won 16 & under in 2007, and Christine Richardson of Canada won 14 & under in 2005.

But any Mexican players should not be overlooked. Jessica Maldonado and Jessica Parrilla are representing Mexico in Girls 18 & under this year. Finally, Sheryl Lotts is the other American player, and she was the USA Racquetball Intercollegiate Champion this year.

Both Americans - Jose Diaz and Marco Rojas - in the Boys 16 & under division are likely the favorites, as they won the 14 & under division the last two years. Rojas in 2007 and Diaz in 2008.

In Girls 16 & under, Aubrey O'brien is likely the player to beat. She's had good results in Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) events, including a Round of 16 finish on the weekend at the Christmas Classic, and is currently ranked #23 on the WPRO. Her strongest competition could come from Canadian Frédérique Lambert (WPRO #29), Mexicans Sofia Rascon (#26) and Jocelyn Loredo (#41) as well as fellow American Devon Pimentelli (#49).

The 14 & under categories are always hard to predict as the players often have small competition records so it's hard to know what to expect. However, on the girls' side, Ximena Gonzalez of Mexico won the 12 & under division in 2007, so perhaps she's the player to beat in 14 & under this year.

No such prior Champions on the Boys 14 & under, but a Mexican or American has won this division each of the last 8 years, so it seems likely that the winner this year will be either Javier Estrada (Mexico), Eduardo Garay (Mexico), Sam Reid (USA), or Zachary Wertz (USA).

The opening ceremonies of the 20th World Junior Racquetball Championships are Monday night with the competitions to begin Tuesday morning. The format will be a preliminary round followed by an elimination round, which will conclude Sunday with the finals.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Paola Longoria defeated Rhonda Rajsich for the second consecutive time Sunday, as she won the final of the Christmas Classic in Arlington, Virginia - the fourth event of the Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) tour. Longoria won in three straight games, 11-7, 11-3, 11-3.

The win gives Longoria a 2-1 advantage over Rajsich this season. Also, Longoria may regain the #1 WPRO ranking with the win. She was #1 at the start of the season, but Rajsich went ahead of her after winning the first two WPRO events, including the US Open in October.

In the women's Open division, Adrienne Fisher defeated Krystal Csuk, 15-5, 15-14 in the final. Fisher and Csuk got to the final by defeating two Japanese players.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Rhonda Rajsich and Paola Longoria will meet in a Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) event final for the third time this season on Sunday when they face off for the Christmas Classic title in Arlington, Virginia. They split their first two meetings.

The top four seeds are through to the semi-finals at the Christmas Classic in Arlington, Virginia. This is the fourth main event of the Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) season.

The top seeds Rhonda Rajsich and Paola Longoria both won their quarter final matches in three straight games. Rajsich defeated Jo Shattuck, 11-2, 11-9, 11-7, while Longoria defeated Jennifer Saunders, 11-3, 11-2, 11-8.

In the other quarter final matches, third seed Cheryl Gudinas needed four games to defeat Adrienne Fisher, 11-5, 10-12, 11-2, 11-6, and fourth seed Kerri Wachtel had to come back from 2 games to 1 down against Kristen Bellows. Wachtel won in a tie-breaker, 2-11, 11-7, 12-14, 11-5, 11-5.

The semi-finals will be played later on Saturday, and the final on Sunday.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Higher seeds have continued to carry the day in Arlington, Virginia at the Christmas Classic, the fourth main event of the Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) season. The top four seeds all had relatively easy matches in the Round of 16.

Round one has been completed at the Christmas Classic in Arlington, Virginia, and there were no upsets. This is the fourth main event of the Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) season.

No upsets but several close matches, including 22nd seed Ashley Loyd pushing 11th seed Keely Franks to a fifth game tie-breaker that Franks won by the slimmest of margins, taking the match 11-4, 2-11, 11-1, 1-11, 11-9. Franks will next play Adrienne Fisher.

The two most convincing wins so far are Doreen Fowler's victory over Sarah Warhaftig, 11-0, 11-6, 11-2, and Aubrey O'brien's win against Dolly Watson, which went 11-1, 11-3, 11-3.

O'brien will play 3rd seed Cheryl Gudinas and Fowler 4th seed Kerri Wachtel in the Round of 16 later on Friday.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

We've now got the official draw for the Chrismas Classic - the fourth main event of the Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) season that will start tomorrow in Arlington, Virginia. WPRO #1 Rhonda Rajsich has won two of the three events this season with #2 Paola Longoria winning the other. They are joined by twenty three other players in Virginia.

There will be two rounds on Friday, two on Saturday and then the final on Sunday.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Twenty five players are entered in this weekend's Christmas Classic in Arlington, Virginia, the fourth main event of the Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) season. WPRO #1 Rhonda Rajsich has won two of the three events this season with #2 Paola Longoria winning the other.

Thus, a Rajsich-Longoria final would not be a surprise come Sunday. However, Cheryl Gudinas and Kerri Wachtel have both been in all three semi-finals, and Wachtel made the first final of the season in Texas, where she beat Longoria in the semis, so they are both threats to play Grinch to the top seeds plans.

We've done up the draw based on the latest WPRO rankings, so unofficially this is how it looks.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Rhonda Rajsich won the New Jersey Open - a satellite event on the Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) on Sunday, defeating Aimee Ruiz, 12-10, 11-2, 12-10 in the final. Rajsich is the #1 WPRO player.

Rajsich's victory comes ahead of next week's Christmas Classic in Arlington, Virginia, the next Tier 1 event on the WPRO schedule. Rajsich won the first two tournaments of the season but lost in the final of the last one to Paola Longoria.

Monday, November 30, 2009

There were no pro tournaments this past the weekend, so let's look back at the 2004 US Open final in which Kane Waselenchuk dispatched Cliff Swain in three games, 11-1, 11-3, 11-0. It's the most lop-sided US Open final ever, and with it Waselenchuk became the first man to defend a US Open title. He's still the only man to win successive US Open titles.

As you can tell from the scores, the games were not long. Only 68 rallies were played over the three games. There were 21 rallies in the first game, 28 in the second and only 19 in the third. Moreover, the shots in those rallies were few, averaging less than 3 shots per rally. In fact, seven was most shots in any rally and that only happened once.

Three of Swain's four points came off the serve, and those three happened consecutively in game two. He hit a serve for a winner, then followed it up with two aces. At that point, Swain actually led 3-1, but he didn't score another point in the match. Swain hit a short serve, and then Waselenchuk ran 5 points to lead 6-3.

Swain got the serve back and served it long. Waselenchuk got another two points: 8-3. Swain regained serve and hit it long again. Waselenchuk then finished off the game with three consecutive points. Swain faulted six times in the match - four times in game two.

As we know now, Waselenchuk's dominating performance in this final was indicative of what was to come, as he won 8 tournaments overall that season and finished as the #1 player for the second time. He's continued to be the dominant racquetball player in the world, and it seems he could remain there for some time to come.

You can see the 2004 US Open final for yourself by ordering it on DVD from USA Racquetball. Do it today, and you can probably get it in time for Christmas.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

As we previously told you, Ben Croft won the Puget Sound Open (a Tier 4 IRT event) in Olympia, Washington last weekend. We can now tell you the final scores. Croft defeated Jimmy Lowe in the final, 11-2, 14-12, 11-4. Croft also took the doubles title with Charles Pratt as they defeated Jeff Stark and Lon Bergstrom in the final, 15-8, 15-9.

Stark and Bergstrom got to the final by squeaking by young guns Grant Stalley and Taylor Knoth in the semi-finals, 15-7, 3-15, 11-10, while Croft and Pratt took out Neale Jentsch and Joshua Hungerford, 15-10, 15-6, in the other semi-final.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

A stunning announcement from the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) today, as their website announces Dave Negrete is stepping down from the Commissioner position and Jason Mannino will become the new IRT Commissioner.

The announcement states the rest of this season will a transition period, so Mannino won't retire from competition until season's end, and Negrete will remain on the scene to the end of the 2009-2010 season. Also, Negrete intends to continue running the IRT Pro Nationals in Chicago, which typically is the season ending event.

The Racquetball Blog is surprised by this development given Negrete agreed to a 5 year extension as Commissioner at the start of this season. At that time Mannino was appointed Deputy Commissioner, so it's not surprising that he has succeeded Negrete as Commissioner, but the timing is surprising.

UPDATE:

Since posting the above, The Racquetball Blog has talked to Dave Negrete. He's proud of what he's been able to accomplish over his 9 years as the IRT Commissioner. That included the creation of the all Lucite court, the inclusion of racquetball in the ESPN network, and a solid group of satellite events that give players opportunities to make money.

Explaining how he accomplished these things Negrete said "the way I built what I built was with networking and emotion. Major deals developed from relationships I created through networking" and having positive relationships with people.

Negrete was inspired from Tony Hawke's description of how his career developed, as Hawke explained in a 60 Minutes interview. Hawke initially made a few dollars at a local skateboading event, and then went to bigger and bigger events. That led to a major company getting behind him. Then the video game industry came calling. Also, he did bus tours with friends bringing pro skateboarding to the public.

Negrete has started to see this happen in racquetball with the satellite IRT events leading to the Tier 1 and Grand Slam events. Earlier this year the USAR announced the development of a racquetball video game by Graffiti Entertainment, and Gearbox Racquetball has been touring the USA by bus bringing their players and products to the people.

It all fits into Negrete's vision.

So why resign now? Sometimes you receive offers that are hard to refuse, and that's the case with Negrete. His resignation was precipitated by a job offer he received from outside racquetball.

Of course, change in an organization always creates uncertainty, and that's perhaps especially so when the overall economic climate is uncertain. But Negrete is confident that the IRT is in a good place. "Jason will do fine," he said, and although he won't be at events in the new year, Negrete sees the second half of the season as a solid schedule.

The Racquetball Blog wishes Negrete all the best with his future endeavors.

The Racquetball Blog reported yesterday that Javier Moreno and Paola Longoria won Chihuahua Open last weekend. We can now bring you the draws from the tournament, courtesy of Profr. Javier Moreno Arroyo.

While the results are the same in the spreasheet we got from Profr. Moreno Arroyo, some of the scores are slightly different. The mens' final, for example, was closer than we previously reported, as Javier Moreno defeated Jason Mannino, 11-7, 12-10, 11-7.

Of note on the women's side is Nancy Enriquez reaching the semis, and going five games with Rhonda Rajsich. Enriquez has only played one other WPRO event this season - the Texas Open, where she also lost to Rajsich but in three games rather than five.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

It took awhile to find the results, but The Racquetball Blog can now tell you that Javier Moreno created two big upsets on the weekend on the way to taking the Chihuahua Open title. The Chihuahua Open was a Tier 2 event on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT).

Moreno beat Jason Mannino in the final in three straight games, 11-4, 11-7, 11-4, and defeated Rocky Carson in the semi-finals, 11-8, 11-7, 11-3. In the other semi, while Mannino took out Polo Gutierrez 11-7, 9-11, 14-12, 10-11, 11-9.

The Chihuahua Open was also a Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) satellite event and another Mexican took the title, as Paola Longoria defeated Rhonda Rajsich in the final 11-9, 11-8, 11-9. It was their second consecutive meeting in a final and the second win for Longoria, who lost to Rajsich in their first meeting this season.

(note: in the news articles we've linked to that report the results the games seem to be played to 15, but we're assuming that the racquetball pro standard of playing each game to 11 was actually employed)

Monday, November 23, 2009

Illinois native Andy Hawthorne won in his home state on Sunday, as he defeated Brian Simpson, 11-3, 11-2, 3-11, 11-7, in the final of the Illinois Turkey Shoot, which is a Tier 4 event on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) played in Lombard, Illinois. Hawthorne and Simpson were the #1 and #2 seeds in the tournament.

Ben Croft won the Puget Sound Open (a Tier 4 IRT event) in Olympia, Washington. He defeated Jimmy Lowe in three games (scores currently unavailable). Croft got to the final by beating Taylor Knoth in the semi-finals, 11-0, 11-7, 11-3, and 3rd seed Lowe upset the 2nd seed Charles Pratt, 11-8, 11-5, 11-9.

That's Croft's second Tier 4 win in as many weekends, as he also took the Callahan's Classic title in Overland Park, Kansas the previous weekend.

Unofficially, we have word that Alex Ackerman defeated Richard Eismann in five games in Oklahoma City at the Sponge Bob Classic, the 3rd IRT Tier 4 event of the weekend.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Four events of note this weekend in professional racquetball. The big one is happening in Chihuahua, Mexico, where the Chihuahua Open is a Tier 2 International Racquetball Tour (IRT) and a satellite event for the Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) tour.

There are three other IRT events. The Glass Court Turkey Shoot in Lombard, Illinois has almost 200 participants, and the top seeds are Andy Hawthorne and Brian Simpson. The Puget Sound Open in Olympia, Washington has drawn over 150 players, including Ben Croft, Charles Pratt and Jimmy Lowe. Finally, there's the Sponge Bob Oklahoma Open in Oklahoma City.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

You are one of the winningest Canadian racquetball players. Your three Canadian championships in singles are surpassed by only Heather Stupp (with 7), Christie Van Hees (6), and Heather McKay (5). Add your six doubles titles and only Stupp (13 combined) and Josée Grand'Maître (14), who was your partner for those six doubles titles, have more combined championships than your 9.

But success outside Canada has been more elusive. You're ranked 9th on the Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) tour, but have yet to get past the quarters in a Tier 1 event. You have been the queen of the open division, winning that several times including twice this season, as well as the 2007 US Open.

Internationally, you've represented Canada 13 times taking two silver medals - at Worlds in 2002, when you lost to Cheryl Gudinas in the final, and in doubles at the 2004 Pan American Championships, with Grand'Maître, when you lost to Susy Acosta and Rosy Torres. You've also taken home four bronze medals: three in singles from the 2006 and 2008 World Championships and the 2008 Pan American Championships, and one in doubles from the 2004 World Championship again with Grand'Maître as your partner.

Born in Thompson, a small city in northern Manitoba with a large nickel mine, you got the racquetball bug early, leading to many 8 hour drives south to Winnipeg for tournaments.

All that time you put in pursuing the racquetball dream has more than paid off, and is likely to continue to do so for many years to come.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Kris Odegard and Brandi Jacobson Prentice came out on top in Regina at the season's first Racquetball Canada National Team Selection Event on the weekend. Canada has three selection events that determine who represents Canada at international events. There are two selection events during the season and the the Canadian National Championships in May.

Odegard, the current Canadian champion, defeated Mike Green in a dramatic final match, 9-15, 15-7, 15-13. Odegard also beat Green to win the national championship in May, so he will go ahead of Green in Racquetball Canada's rankings and become the #1 player in Canada for the first time in his career.

Odegard started strong in game one with a 3-0 lead, but Green then scored 9 straight points and went on to a 12-4 lead. Odegard did get some momentum back before losing the first game 15-9, and he used that momentum in game two to gain another early lead at 6-1. Green closed it to 8-6, that's as close as it got as Odegard won 15-7.

In the tie-breaker, Green started out strong taking a 5-0 and then 7-1 lead. However, Odegard worked back into the game, and tied it at 7-7. They tied again at 9-9, and then things got interesting.

Ten rallies went by before someone broke the tie, as Odegard made it 10-9. But he failed on his first match ball, as immediately Green got a side out and tied it again. Odegard got the serve back and again went ahead 11-10.

But again he failed to convert the match point. Green then got two points and had his first chance to serve for the match at 12-11. It was Odegard's turn to grab the serve back and tie the score, now at 12-12.

Green broke that tie, and served at 13-12 three times. He even took a time out to gather himself prior to the third time. But he couldn't get it done.

Odegard got the serve back, and scored three straight points, winning the match on his third match serve opportunity.

Both players used several different serves in the match, but down the stretch Odegard primarily relied on a nick lob serve to Green's backhand, while Green was doing half lob z serves to Odegard's forehand.

Jacobson Prentice defeated Jennifer Saunders, 15-12, 15-13, which was her first career win over Saunders - the current and three time Canadian Champion. Saunders had leads in both games: 6-2 and 12-9 in game one, and 9-4 and 13-10 in game two, but didn't convert them into wins.

Also of note on the men's side was former Canadian Champion Corey Osborne making a return to competitive racquetball after a two year absence. He finished third in the event ahead of Lee Connell.

IRT

Jason Mannino won the Sunset Turkey Shoot Pro Am in Portland, Oregon. He defeated Shane Vanderson in the final, 11-5, 11-7, 11-5. To get there Mannino beat Charles Pratt, 11-2, 7-11, 11-6, 11-6, in the semi-finals and Vanderson took out Jose Rojas, 11-3, 11-4, 7-11, 11-5.

The Sunset Turkey Shoot Pro Am was a Tier 3 event on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT).

WPRO

Rhonda Rajsich remains the #1 player in the latest Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) rankings, but her lead over #2 Paola Longoria is narrow - a mere 61.70 points, as Longoria defeated Rajsich in the last WPRO tournament.

The only change in the top 10 is that Jennifer Saunders is now 9th, moving ahead of Jo Shattuck, who's 10th.

In the next 10, T.J. Baumbaugh moved up to 11th and Diane Moore has fallen to 13th. Doreen Fowler is up to 15th with Vivian Gomez next at 16. Also, Sheryl Lotts is in the top 20 for the first time coming in at #20.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

On this day of remembrance we're looking back to 2006 and the US Open. There was a great deal of uncertainty on who would hoist the cup, as Kane Waselenchuk was unable to defend the title. Jack Huczek looked like the most likely candidate to take the title, because he'd won the first four tournaments of that International Racquetball Tour (IRT) season going into the US Open. Huczek hadn't even been pushed to a tie-breaker in any of the four tournament finals.

But Jason Mannino, the 1999 winner, had other ideas. In an epic semi-final match, which commentator Aaron Katz called "the best match I've ever seen with the most intensity and highest level of play," Mannino defeated Huczek in five games.

Mannino won the first two games with Huczek taking games three and four to force a tie-breaking fifth game - similar to Mannino's victory over Huczek in Kentucky last month.

In that fifth game, it was close all the way, but Huczek got a late lead at 9-7, and then 10-8. Huczek served for the match three times, but was unable to get the 11th point. Mannino tied it at 10-10 and then after a couple of side outs he finished off the match. Denying Huczek a chance to win the title that still eludes him.

In the final, Mannino faced Rocky Carson, who hadn't lost a game in the tournament. Carson led in both games one and two. He was up 9-6 in game one and 8-5 in game two, but he didn't get any more points in either game, as Mannino came back to win them both: 11-9, and 11-8, respectively.

Game three was all Mannino as he got an early lead at 6-2 and went on to win, 11-5, and claim his second US Open title.

Match Stats

The Racquetball Blog staff has been watching the 2006 US Open DVDs available from USA Racquetball. We also gathered stats for the matches from the quarter finals to the final (7 matches total) by counting the number of shots in each rally.

Each game in the Mannino-Carson final was over 4.00 shots per rally, which is relatively high. Of the 25 games in the 7 matches analysed, only seven averaged 4.00 or more shots a rally. The final match accounts for three of those seven games.

Curiously, the two games played with the longest rallies - on average - were from the quarter final match between Jack Huczek and Mitch Williams. While most matches averaged between three and four shots per rally, game two of Huczek-Williams had 4.52 and game four - the last of that match - had an astonishing 5.16!

The match with the shortest rallies was between Shane Vanderson and Alvaro Beltran, who had two games with rallies lasting under 3.00 shots per rally. They also had the game with the fewest rallies. In the fourth and last game of their match, won by Vanderson, was a mere 19 rallies. The 7 matches of the US Open had 37.40 rallies on average.

WPRO: Jennifer Saunders won the Women's Open division at the Rock 'N' Racquetball at the Coast tournament in Wilimington, North Carolina Sunday by defeating Keely Franks in the final, 15-14, 15-11. It's her second Open division win of the season, as Saunders also won in Dallas at the Texas Open in September.

CANADA: Coming up this weekend is Racquetball Canada's first National Team Selection Event of the season. Players will be competing in Regina, Saskatchewan for spots to represent Canada at the Pan American Championships in April that are scheduled to occur in Honduras.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Paola Longoria defeated Rhonda Rajsich for the first time this season, 6-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-6, in the final of the Rock 'N' Racquetball at the Coast tournament in Wilmington, North Carolina, on Sunday in the third event of the Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) 2009-10 season.

Going into this event, Rajsich was ranked #1 ahead of #2 Longoria, but the lead is only slightly more than 100 points, so this victory may be enough to put Longoria back on top of the WPRO rankings.

The final was hard fought with the first two games going back and forth. In game three, Rajsich served for the game four times at 10-8, but Longoria fought off those game points and came back to win 12-10.

Longoria led throughout game four and held off a late charge by Rajsich to win 11-6. Longoria drove served - straight and Z - in the match while Rajsich used a mix of serves.

The next WPRO Tier 1 event is the Christmas Classic in Arlington, Virginia December 11-13, 2009.

Rock 'N' Racquetball at the Coast, November 6-8, 2009Wilmington, North Carolina

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Rhonda Rajsich and Paola Longoria - the top seeds and #1 and #2 players on the Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) rankings - will meet in the final of the Rock 'N' Racquetball at the Coast tournament in Wilmington, North Carolina, on Sunday.

Curiously, both Rajsich and Longoria lost the first games of their semi-final matches. Rajsich dropped the opening game against Kerri Wachtel before coming back to win, 6-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-5. Similarly, Longoria was beaten by Cheryl Gudinas in game one of the other semi, but won 7-11, 11-0, 11-2, 11-2.

This will be Rajsich and Longoria's second meeting this season. Rajsich defeated Longoria in the US Open final last month. That win allowed Rajsich to overtake Longoria in the WPRO rankings and regain the #1 spot that she held for three years.

Rock 'N' Racquetball at the Coast, November 6-8, 2009Wilmington, North Carolina

Both top seeds have won their quarter final matches at the Rock 'N' Racquetball at the Coast tournament in Wilmington, North Carolina - the 3rd event of the Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) season.

Congratulations Toronto! The 2015 Pan American Games have been awarded to Toronto, which was one of three cities bidding for the event. Bogata, Columbia and Lima, Peru were the others. Toronto won on the first ballot.

This is good news for racquetball, as racquetball is expected to be part of the program. Hopefully, it will be a boost to racquetball in Canada, and especially Ontario, which quite frankly needs a shot in the arm - and we don't mean a flu shot.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

As regular readers of The Racquetball Blog will know, we've been adding racquetball information to Wikipedia. A curious thing has been happening with one of the entries over this past week. Some of the information has been deleted three times now.

What racquetball information does someone not want you to know? (the deletion has been anonymous, as person(s) doing the deletion is (are) only identified by the computer's IP address; two of the three times have been from by the same IP address) It's the following that we wrote in the entry for Kane Waselenchuk:

"Waselenchuk would have won a fourth [Canadian] title in 2006, but following the final match in which he defeated Mike Green, Waselenchuk tested positive for "metabolites of both cannabis and cocaine."[3] That positive test led to a two year ban from racquetball, so Waselenchuk did not play in the 2006-07 and 2007-08 IRT seasons." (the [3] references the quote, which is from an article that appeared in The Globe & Mail).

It seems that someone does not (or some people do not) want any reference to Waselenchuk's suspension on Wikipedia. We have reinstated the information each time it's been deleted, and our rationale for doing so is there has to be an explanation of why Waselenchuk did not compete for two years. This paragraph provides that explanation with a reference. Omitting it denies it happened, which is wrong.

The Wikipedia entry makes no judgment about the suspension and its cause, and we're not doing so here. But it happened. It's a fact.

The Racquetball Blog has stopped mentioning Waselenchuk's suspension this season when reporting his performances, because it's old news now. But an encyclopedia entry of a person should mention the significant events in the person's life, especially if those events relate to the achievements in the person's profession. Waselenchuk's suspension was a significant event in his racquetball career, so we believe it should be mentioned.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

The Rock 'N' Racquetball at the Coast tournament in Wilmington, North Carolina begins Friday, and it's the third event on the Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) schedule. We've got the draw for you below.

Rajsich winning but not overwhelming

Rhonda Rajsich is the top seed this weekend, as she's regained the #1 WPRO ranking after winning the first two tournaments of the season. But Rajsich isn't blowing her opponents away. In fact, she's played four 5 game matches this season, and she's been involved in the two matches where the players have combined for the most points in a match this season.

Ninety-four points were scored in Rajsich's quarter final victory over Angela Grisar in the Texas Open, which is the most combined points in one match this season, and 92 points were scored in the Texas Open final when Rajsich defeated Kerri Wachtel.

Rajsich also needed five games to defeat Paola Longoria and Cheryl Gudinas in the final and semi-final of the US Open.

"Let's play 5!"

Overall, 16 of the 81 WPRO matches (19.8%) this season have gone 5 games, 21 matches have been 4 games (25.9%) and 43 matches were over in three straight (53.1%). One game was a forfeit. In comparison, less than 12% of the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) matches have gone 5 games.

Curiously, in the 28 matches where WPRO players have split the first two games the player who won the second game has won the match more often: 17 to 11. So if you win game one, you'd best win game two also, because those who don't end up losing more often than they win.

Rock 'N' Racquetball at the Coast, November 6-8, 2009Wilmington, North Carolina

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

There were a couple of minor events on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) schedule last weekend. Rocky Carson won the New Mexico Invitational Pro-Am event in Albuquerque, New Mexico (a Tier 3 event), while Juan Martinez III took the Halloween Classic in Arlington Heights, Illinois (a Tier 4 event).

Carson defeated Ben Croft in the final, 11-8,11-8, 11-6, gaining measure of revenge over the man who defeated him at the US Open last month. In the semi-finals, Carson beat Polo Gutierrez, 11-9, 11-8, 11-1, while Croft came back from a game down against Shane Vanderson to win in four, 7-11, 12-10, 11-8, 11-5.

The next IRT events are two Tier 4 events happening this weekend on opposite sides of the USA. In the east the Long Island Open will be happening in Syosset, New York, while in the west the Pomona Valley Open happens in Claremont, California.

The Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) rankings have been re-run, as there were some satellite events included in the previous run by mistake. Nonetheless, Rhonda Rajsich has regained the #1 position from Paola Longoria, who is now #2.

However, there are some other changes in the top 10. Kerri Wachtel has gone ahead of Kristen Bellows into the #4 spot, with Bellows now #5. Wachtel's had good showings in both WPRO events this season, finishing runner up in Dallas and semi-finalist in Memphis.

Adrienne Fisher is #6, with Veronica Sotomayor falling to #7. The top 10 rounds out with Angela Grisar at #8, Jo Shattuck in 9th and Jennifer Saunders in 10th.

In the next 10, T.J. Baumbaugh is only 13th, not 11th as we'd reported yesterday. Also former #1 Jackie Paraiso is #16 and another former #1 Christie Van Hees is #35.

Another player who's ranking is better today than yesterday is Janell Tisinger, who reached the quarter finals at the US Open for the first time last month, is now #22 not #25 as previously reported.

All this will jiggle the draw around for this weekend's Rockin' Racquetball at the Coast Pro-Am, the third event of the WPRO season, in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Rhonda Rajsich has regained the #1 position in the latest Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) rankings. Rajsich won the first two tournaments of the season, including the US Open - a Grand Slam event.

Paola Longoria, who was #1 is now #2. She was the defending US Open champion, and was runner up this year to Rajsich. Rajsich lost in the quarter finals last year, so she gained a great deal of points for the much better finish this year. Rajsich had been #1 for three seasons before Longoria overtook her in May.

Angela Grisar also moved up one spot to 7th from 8th, changing positions with Adrienne Fisher.

In the next 10, T.J. Baumbaugh has risen to 11th from 14th, and former #1 Jackie Paraiso is back in the top 20 at #17, while another former #1 Christie Van Hees has fallen out of the top 20 and is now 30th.

Janell Tisinger, who was unranked prior to last month's US Open, is now #25, as she got all the way to the quarter finals before losing to Longoria.

The third WPRO event of the season is this weekend's Rockin' Racquetball at the Coast Pro-Am in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Jack Huczek has moved up to #2 in the latest International Racquetball Tour (IRT) rankings ahead of Rocky Carson in #3. Huczek's been a finalist in each of the four main IRT events this season and won the Lou Bradley Memorial tournament, a Tier 3 event.

Kane Waselenchuk remains the #1 player, having won three of the four IRT main events, including last week's US Open in Memphis.

Jason Mannino, who in Memphis suggested that this might be his last season on tour, has also moved up to the #4 spot ahead of Shane Vanderson, who Mannino beat in the semis in Memphis.

No other changes in the top 10 other than Alvaro Beltran falling another spot to #7 as he remains sidelined due to injury.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

The next Tier 1 event on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) schedule won't happen until January. What are the players going to do with two months off?

Following the US Open final on Sunday, The Racquetball Blog asked finalists Jack Huczek and Kane Waselenchuk what they planned to do leading up to the next IRT event - the California Open in Los Angeles, January 7-10.

Huczek said he'll be "working hard to get better everyday." Huczek's going to work on "all aspects" of his game, as he feels there isn't "one particular glaring weakness" with how he plays.

Although his drive serve was good against Waselenchuk on Sunday, The Racquetball Blog staff would suggest Huczek improves his drive serve if he's planning on beating Waselenchuk, as we feel a strong drive serve is necessary to do so.

But when we put that to him following Sunday's final, Huczek disagreed. He believes there's "not one particular serve" necessary to beat Waselenchuk, but that whatever serve is chosen - drive or lob - it needs to be executed well.

Waselenchuk has no particular plans for his game, but is thankful there's a break now, because he's soon going to be "getting even less sleep than I do now," as he and wife Kim are expecting their second child in about three weeks.

Their second child will also be a daughter, and another K in the family as they plan to name her Kendell. She'll be a younger sister to Kennedy, who was born last year.

Monday, October 26, 2009

The 2009 US Open ended yesterday, but there's still some news The Racquetball Blog wants you to know.

At Saturday's US Open banquet, the Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) and the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) presented their annual awards.

WPRO Awards

Rookie of the year - Veronica SotomayorMost improved player - Kristen Bellows Janet Myers sportsmanship award - Kerri Wachtel Player of the year - Paola Longoria

IRT Awards

Most improved player - Kris Odegard Sportsmanship award - Polo Gutierrez Player of the year - Kane Waselenchuk

Open Division winners

Canadian Vincent Gagnon defeated Armando Landa, 15-10, 15-6, to win the men's open US Open title. He finished runner-up last year, when he lost to Gilberto Mejia. It's the first time a Canadian has won this division, and halts a six consecutive title streak by Mexican players.

Krystal Csuk won women's open division by defeating Harumi Kajino of Japan in the final, 15-8, 15-9. The division did not run to form, as Csuk was seeded 9th and Kajino 31st. They took out the 1st and 2nd seeds, respectively, as Csuk beat Aubry O'brien, 15-13, 15-11 in the quarter finals, and Kajino ousted Adrienne Fisher, 15-4, 15-5, in the Round of 32.

In Open doubles, Andres and Juan Herrera defeated Fernando Rios and Juan Diego Rodriguez, 15-7, 15-8 in the men's final, while Brandi Jacobson Prentice and Jennifer Saunders won the women's doubles crown with a victory over Jvonne Carplo and Maria Paz Munoz, 15-11, 15-10.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Kane Waselenchuk became the winningest man in US Open history on Sunday, as he defeated Jack Huczek, 12-10, 11-1, 11-3 in the final of the 14th US Open Racquetball Championship in Memphis, Tennessee, for his fifth career US Open title. He was previously tied with Sudsy Monchik at four titles.

Waselenchuk said afterwards he felt this was "the biggest match of my career," and "I don't get nervous [before matches] but I was nervous today."

Monchik presented the trophy to Waselenchuk, who said "it was a tremendous honor to have Sudsy here."

Huczek came to play on Sunday, and the match was close early in game one. Then Waselenchuk got at lead at 9-4 and it seemed that the defending champion was going to cruise to victory. But Huczek took a time out, and got the serve back when play resumed.

He ran four points including three service winners to make the score 9-8. Then after a side-out, got two more points to make it 10-8. But that was the only time Huczek served for the game, as Waselenchuk got the serve back, tied the score, and then went on to win it 12-10.

Huczek's game plan was to "put as much pressure on [Waselenchuk] as possible on serve and serve return," and it showed in game one. In fact, Waselenchuk said "I was going to drive serve, but felt I needed to slow the game down" after he saw how Huczek started out.

Huczek felt he "didn't play that bad, but could never get a string of points together in the second and third games," which he attributed to Waselenchuk not missing many shots.

After using lob serves for two games, Waselenchuk said he "got bored of lobbing," so in game three he drove serve, as he "wanted to bring the heat."

And heat there was. He got up to a 6-0 advantage, when Huczek called a time out. But that didn't stop Waselenchuk from adding to his lead until it was 10-0. Then Huczek managed to scrape out a few points before Waselenchuk finished it at 11-3.

Waselenchuk's won both meetings with Huczek this season, and Huczek's been in the finals of all four IRT main events. But he yet to win one.

Waselenchuk allowed 14 points against him on Sunday, which is tied for fourth fewest in US Open history. The fewest was 4 in 2004 when Waselenchuk defeated Cliff Swain to win his second US Open title, and the second fewest was 10 last year as Waselenchuk defeated Rocky Carson.

US Open Tournament Director Doug Ganim assured the crowd that there will be a 2010 US Open, although where it will be is uncertain. Our understanding is the contract with The Racquet Club in Memphis is ending, so USA Racquetball is considering all possibilities for where the host next year's event. Memphis is but one possibility.

American Rhonda Rajsich won her third US Open Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) title Sunday in Memphis, Tennessee by defeating defending champion Paola Longoria of Mexico, 1-11, 11-8, 11-3, 2-11, 11-7. Rajsich was champion in 2007 and 2003. The win ties her with Canadian Christie Van Hees for most US Open WPRO titles at three.

Longoria came out firing, winning game one easily, 11-1. She used straight drive serves in that game and throughout the match, not the drive Z that she's often used in the past. Longoria served to the left, Rajsich's backhand, primarily, but occasionally served right as well.

Rajsich had the lead early in game two, 4-0, but Longoria came back and tied it at 4-4 and 5-5. But then Rajsich went out to a 9-5 lead and held it to win 11-8.

Rajsich again got the lead early in game three, going up 5-0, and although Longoria closed it to 6-3, that's all she could get, as Rajsich won 11-3. Rajsich, who'd drove serve early in the match, switched to half lobs and half lob Zs to both sides.

In game four, Rajsich got the first couple points, and people may have thought it was going to be over in four. But she got no more, as Longoria came back, hitting winner after winner. Rajsich looked overwhelmed.

Thus, momentum was definitely on Longoria's side as they went into game five. She did get the first two points of the tie-breaker, and they were tied at 3-3. But then Rajsich took the lead up to 7-4, and then 10-4.

However, Longoria fought off three match points, and cut the lead to 10-7. At that point, Rajsich took a time-out, as momentum again seemed to be shifting in favor of the Mexican. When play resumed, Rajsich got a side-out and won the match on the next rally, winning it with a cross court pass from right to left that Longoria couldn't reach.

Afterwards, Rajsich said "the WPRO is stronger than ever." A testament to that is that from the quarter-finals to the final, 5 of the 7 matches went to a tie-breaker.